Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Danny Rosenbaum Interview-Part 1

We start a five part interview with former Xavier Musketeer pitcher and current Washington Nationals prospect Danny Rosenbaum with part one.
Thanks to Danny for taking the time for us and best wished to him for the 2011 season..

ThoughtsOfRS: Growing up in Ohio,did you ever prefer other sports to baseball?If so what...

Danny Rosenbaum: Yeah, growing up besides baseball I played basketball and soccer. I played basketball until sophomore year of high school and played soccer until 7th grade. Basketball is my favorite sport to watch and play besides baseball. I'm a big college basketball fan. I tried playing football freshman year of high school but I was way too small and I didn't play but in like 2 games.

TRS: Were you ever approached by pro scouts during your high school years and if so were there any teams that seemed more interested in you than others?

DR: Yeah but not many, I got some questionnaires and a Cardinals scout came to my house and talked with me and my family. I talked to a Marlins scout a couple times and a couple others but I knew I wanted to go to school.

TRS:Were you heavily recruited by Midwest colleges and why the selection of Indiana?

DR: Yeah , all my visits were around the Midwest, Indiana, Cincinnati, Xavier, Illinois, Kentucky, Miami of Ohio. I got some calls from other schools that were out of state that were powerhouses but I didn't want to pursue those.

I really liked Indiana's coaching staff and their campus. I've heard great things about the school and just fell in love with it when I took my visit there.

TRS: Why did you decide to transfer from Indiana to Xavier?

DR: I just thought it was a better fit for me to go somewhere else. I loved IU, the campus is great the coaches were great, but it just wasn't right for me. Growing up I was always a big Cincinnati Bearcats fan, and hated Xavier , but I heard a lot of great things about the school and coaches and the team that drew me in. I'm glad I made the right choice to be a Musketeer.

TRS: What are the advantages to playing baseball (a non-revenue sport in college) at the mid-major college level?

DR: Well, being considered a mid-major school means that no one really gives you any respect, especially when playing in the Atlantic 10. So you need to earn your respect year in and year out, it's something to really strive for, which our team has done every year. We don't have the luxuries of what big schools have, like indoor football facilities or warm weather. A lot of teams down south are practicing outside right now where we are practicing in our OLD basketball gym.

It also is very tough being a non revenue sport, because we don't get that extra money to have to spend on nice things. Coach Googins (head coach) considers our team as a very blue collared hard working bunch. I guarantee we work just as hard or harder than anyone else in the country. It's tough to get those top recruits because we don't have the best facilities but everything in the program has been getting better every year. We compete at the top of the A-10 every season.

TRS:The disadvantages?

DR: Like every school up north we have to worry about the weather, we cant get outside and if we do we go when its in the 30's and there's some sun. Like I said before those top recruits are tough to get, but we make do with what we got. we bring in some good talent and develop them into great students and players.